A leading Islamic fashion brand for women is looking to expand into the UAE after launching its first boutique store in London, UK. 

British fashion house Aab is targeting Dubai within the next 12-18 months to “satisfy client demand” as part of the company’s expansion plans. 

The news comes after Aab launched its boutique in London with a launch event attended by clients, guest bloggers and stylists. 

Over 2,000 shoppers visited the new boutique on the day and was attended by some of the world’s biggest names in modest fashion such as Dina Toki-O, Ruba and Habiba Da Silva.

The new store will complement Aab’s online offering and offer a full range of clothing and accessories alongside a bespoke and limited-edition collection exclusively for clients.

“We are delighted to finally launch our new London store but our vision is to grow the Aab brand in strategic locations across the world which includes UAE, Malaysia and Indonesia,” says Nazmin Alim, Creative Director of Aab.

“London continues to be at the heart of our retail strategy but we are an ambitious young British brand and we aim to expand by fulfilling client demand in new locations across the world and Dubai is a crucial market for us.

“We are looking at UAE very closely with a view to having a physical presence in the next 12-18 months and are currently looking for suitable retail locations in Dubai.”

The new London boutique store is located in a 600-sq-ft unit across two levels in the new East Shopping Centre. The store was opened with a launch event with clients, guests and renowned modest clothing bloggers such as Dino Toki-O.  

Founded in 2007, Aab currently a leading online retailer in the fast-growing Islamic fashion sector.

The company creates original design pieces using its own in-house designers taking inspiration from global fashion trends. Aab places a strong emphasis on creating products using premium quality material and tailoring.

Its full collection of products include everything from modest clothing, abayas, hijabs and accessories with a customer base that now extends to the US, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East.

Modest and Islamic fashion is now one of the fastest growing sectors in the industry with the global Muslim consumer spending on ‘clothing and footwear increased 11.9 per cent to reach $266 billion in 2013 according to a new report by Thomson Reuters.

It was estimated that the UAE had a clothing consumption of $22.5 billion. In recent years, designers such as Hermes, Aramis, and Estée Lauder have targeted this sector with exclusive collections inspired by the Middle East.

The East Shopping Centre is the first development of its kind in Europe and will boast eco-friendly features such as solar panels and flow restrictors to help save water. Based on Green Street in East London, it comprises 27 individual, two-storey retail units anchored by a ground floor souk which will provide a smaller marketplace for retailers and local businesses.